Amalgamator.



C. MGKELLAR.

AMALGAMATOR. y APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Flc; Z

WTNESSES.'

n bodying my invention,

CLYDE MOKELLAR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AMALGAMATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept'. 12, 1911.

Application filed August 1, 1910. Serial No. 574,987.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE MCKELLAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and lState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamatora of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mining appliances and has particular reference to improvements in amalgamating machines.

The object of the invention is to provide an amalgamator of increased eii'ciency, economy and speed ofv operation, to which end I provide among other things, for a series of riiies arranged to form a continuous path and to keep the mercury in circulation throughout these riliies or along this path.

My invention consists in the novel construction, combination, operation and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the appended drawing and incorporated in the subjoined claims.

In the drawing-Figure 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, of an apparatus emminus the supporting frame therefor shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the complete machine, taken substantially on line X-X of Fig. 1.

In the above named views are shown an amalgamator with a novel arrangement of supply tank, or hopper, and a ritfle box with the well known step-by-step arrangement of ritiies, but with the initial ritIies at the bottom instead of at the top of the rilfle box, as in the usual arrangement. These rilfles also form a continuous or spiral path both ends of which communicate with the mercury well or trough, and the mercury is caused to circulate from the well to and alongthe ritlies and back again thus insuring an even distribution of mercury coating for the riliies, activity in both the mercury and the precious metal to the end of facilitating amalgamation and to prevent the escape of particles of precious metals lodged in any part of the riiles.

The process of amalgamation carried out by my apparatus is further designed to take precious metal out of water where its presence is indicated merely by the coloring of the water.

Referring, now, in detail, to the several views, 2 represents a supporting frame which may be of any suitable design or construction. Within the frame 2 is supported in any approved manner a substantially conical hopper 8, having an opening 4 in its apex or bottom` The upper edges of the hopper are curved downwardly and then upwardly to form an annular trough or receptacle 5, which along its periphery is provided with one or more outlets 6. Underneath the hopper 3 is revolubly mounted a ritlle box, riile container or riliie carrier 7, the configuration of which is substantially that of an inverted truncated cone and corresponding in contour substantially to the form of the hopper 3, whereby the two parts 3 and 7 practically nest into each other and take up substantially no more ground space than one of the parts alone would. The rilile carrier 7 is secured to a vertical shaft 8. This shaft is provided with a drivingpulley 9 to which power may be transmitted in any suitable manner and from any suitable source.

10 and 11 are bearings for the shaft 8 and 12 is a hub secured t/o the shaft and to a false bottoni 13 of the ritie carrier which bottom is immediately supported on said hub. Further support for the riflle-carrier with respect to the shaft 8 is provided by a central conical bottom 14. formed, as shown in Fig. 2, by bending up the lower edges'of a sheet iron carrier and securing them to the shaft, thus alording not only a brace or braces between the carrier and the shaft, but

also` providing an inclined bottom directing the material by the force of gravity to ritie-sides of the carrier to be hereinafter described.

Within the vertical plane of the frame 2 and the horizontal plane of the bottom, or near thereto, is an annular mercury trough or well l5. Within the riiile-carrier and on its inclined sides are a series of superposed riliies which are connected to form a spiral. These riti'les may be made of pipe split lengthwise to form troughs. These troughs, or the spiral trough, are secured by fastening one edge of the trough to the side of the carrier in inverted position, that is, with the opening of the trough down, as shown in Fig. 2, the iow of material, as hereinafter described, being upward instead of downward. The riiiies in their superposed, or

step-by-step arrangement are indicated by the iigure 16, the upper or intake end of the spiral forming the riliies is indicated at 17, which may also be termed the topmost This topmost riiile, or its intake end,

communicates with a pipe 18 which extends from the topmost riiiie down into the mer-I cury well, or annular trough, and the lower end of this pipe, has a horizontally bent portion 19 which is arranged to dip into the mass of mercury. The bend 19 has its opening facing the direction of motion as shown in Fig. 2, so that rotation of the riiie-carrier in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1

` will force mercury into the mouth of the pipe 19. The lower end 'of the spiral is indicated at 20 and may also be termed the lowermost riiile and the outlet lend of the spiral path whenvthe point 17 is considered as the inlet end. The outlet' end 20 is also provided .with a pipe, which is labeled 21 and is provided with abend 22 which dips into the fluid mercury mass, but in this instance the bend is away from the direction 0f motion when the rille-carrier is rotated to the left, or in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. When thus rotated gravity will to some vextent assist the iow along the spiral on account of its slight inclination 25 lin the direction of How. However, by reversing the direction of motion the bend 22 will become the intake and the bend 19 the outlet under centrifugal force imparted by the rotation of the rifle-carrier, to be more particularly referred to. The rile carrier is equipped with one or more brooms Vor brushes 23 which may be conveniently secured to a -horizontal flange 24 formed on the upper edge of the riliie-carrier. 25 indicates a quantity of mercury in the circular trough 15 and 26 water.

27 is a fender or splash-guard mounted on the pipe 19 as shown in Fig. 2. The pipe 21 maybe likewise equipped. This 4Q guard 27 receives the spray due to the agi:

tation of the water by the pipe 18. The purpose of the water is to serve as a wash to remove impurities and the trough may be supplied by a continual iow of water from any suitable'running water supply.

In operation, when the concentrates, water, or other precious mineralbearing material is poured into the hopper 3 and the shaft 8 is rotated inthe direction, say, of the arrow in Fig. 1, such concentrates or the like, will be carried by the rotation of the carrier upwardly along. its linclined sides and over the riiles -until discharged over the upper edge or flange 24 into the annular trough 5 whence it will be swept to one or more suitable opening or openings 6. Under the centrifugal action the concentrates and other matter in the riflie-box or rille-carrier will have a tendency to fly outwardly on horizontal lines and the movement of the bend 19 with its opening or mouth facing the direction of *motion will force mercury from the well up into the uppermost riflie 17 and thence to the outlet 22. If the motion is in a directionv opposite to that indicated by the arrow, the mercury will be taken in at 22 and the ritlle 20 will be the initial riile with the riile 17 and its pipe 18 the outlet. This tendency of the material to fly out in a 7g horizontal direction will press the concentrates against the sides of the riiile-carrier and the heavier precious metal particles will be forced into the mercury thus assisting amalgamation. At the same time the mercury is moving in a direction at right angles to the movement of the concentrates upwardly, or approximately so, thus assisting the amalgamation or junction of the materials. These reciprocal forces I 30 have found by actual test to be such as to take gold out of water where its presence was apparent only as a solution coloring the water brown. The circulation of the mercury also insures its distribution into every g5 part of the riiles and to traverse every part which insures the catchin or taking up of any particles of gold or sllver in the riles which might otherwise escape by being lodged insome uncoated part ofthe riiles. Another advantage gained by this circulation of the mercury is that I can cover a larger area of riiiles or riile surface with a given quantity of mercury and there being no waste of material by having a body of unused mercury lying still where no parti cles of precious metal happen to pass, all of the mercury will be compelled to act until fully laden with mineral.

In my riffle-box or riifle-carrier I also provide at least, one riile and mercurypocket 28 which is an annular trough'substantially like the troughs 16, but unconnected with the mercury-well and designed to hold the mercury without the motion imparted by the intake and outlet pipes and the spiral above-described. The concentrates will therefore pass over the riilles or riie 28 and against the body of mercury therein before encountering the traveling mercury. Under certain conditions I employ only riles 28 and dispense with the circulating system which I have found indispensable under other conditions. I prefer, ordinarily, to combine both to the extent of at least one annular rile 28, as' shown in the accompanying drawing, though each alone represents a separate construction and both together represent a third construction.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination with a dish-shaped hopper, of a similarly formed rille-carrier into which said hopper is substantially nested, a mercury well or trough, riflles arranged in the form of a spiral, an inlet pipe from said well or trough to one end of said spiral, an outlet from the opposite endsl in said trough or Well as set forth, and.

means for rotating said arrier, spiral and pipes. l

2. The combination with a hopper having an opening in the bottom thereof and sides converging toward said opening, of a rifecarrier having upwardly and outwardly inoined sides, an annular riiie in the form of a inverted trough, a spiral ritlie, a Inercury-trough or Well, an inlet pipe fronfsaid vWell to said spiral and arranged to scoop up mercury from said Well into said xspiral, an outlet pipe from said spiral to said Well,

an annular trough arranged to receive concentrates oWlng from sald carrier, anoutlet-pipe from said annular trough, a brush on said carrier arranged to sweep contents.v from said annular trough, and means for rotating Said carrier as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in" the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

N. A. MCKELLaR,

, WM. G. BLoMsTRAN. 

